where climate action meets the future of design

Tag: community

Henriëtte Waal

Posted on by 9ve8c

Artist and designer known for her interdisciplinary work in artistic research, environmental design, and community engagement.

She is the artistic leader of Veenweide Atelier and the co-founder of Atelier LUMA, LUMA Arles’ biodesign lab dedicated to bioregional practices and material engineering. Henriëtte has led fieldwork in Mediterranean wetlands, collaborating with remote wetland communities from Southern Europe, Africa, and West Asia. Her work spans co-fabrication systems for beverages, footwear, colors, crafts, and spaces, as part of an ongoing search for new ecosocial balance. Her projects have been exhibited internationally.

In her recent book Water Works (Waal & Driessen, 2025), she outlines ecosocial design as a method, in which the relationship between humans, ecology, and systems is central. The book positions water infrastructures as socio-ecological systems that require new forms of ecological imagination, storytelling, and alliances between human and non-human actors. 

Ivan Kucina

Posted on by 9ve8c

Kucina’s research explores urban transformation through informality, participatory design, and community-led development.

Professor at the Dessau International Architecture Graduate School (DIA), Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, where he leads the Master Thesis Studio and elective courses. Previously, he taught at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade (1996–2014), and has held visiting professorships at institutions including Parsons School of Design in New York, Polis University in Tirana, KTH Stockholm, and the German University of Technology in Oman.

Alongside his academic work, Kucina has maintained an architectural practice spanning urban design, architecture, exhibitions, and furniture design. He co-founded the Belgrade International Architecture Week (2006) and founded the School of Urban Practices (2012).

Mary Nyaruai Mureithi

Posted on by 9ve8c

Powerful advocate for dignity, gender equality, and a sustainable future by amplifying grassroots voices on global stages. Beyond Nyungu Afrika, she empowers the next generation of female entrepreneurs as a pan-African pitching and entrepreneurship trainer, helping young women confidently present their ideas and reach their full potential. For Mary, design is activism, and every product is a step toward systemic change.

Driven by an activist heart and firsthand exposure to the harsh realities of period poverty, where girls are forced to exchange sex for pads, use unsafe alternatives, or suffer health issues from poor-quality products, Mary designed a better solution. Through Nyungu Afrika, she pioneers a circular economy model that transforms agricultural waste, like pineapple leaves and maize husks, into a patent-pending, biodegradable, tree-free pulp for eco-friendly sanitary pads. Her innovation tackles both period poverty and the harmful impact of imported disposable pads on health and the environment.